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Press Release: Youth Strike for Climate GTA, Jan 11, 2019

Climatefast / FridaysforFuture GTA are holding a Youth Climate Rally at Queen’s Park Friday, January 11, from 12:30 to 2:00 p.m. This rally is being held in solidarity with 11 other climate rallies across Canada as part of the global FridaysforFuture climate movement inspired by the teenage Swedish climate activist, Greta Thunberg.

GTA youth including grade 4 students from Thorncliffe Park are missing school to call attention to the inadequacies of the Ontario government's new climate plan. They will be joined by indigenous youth from the Soaring Eagles camp in solidarity with front line land defenders in Wet’suwet’en territory.

The UN IPCC Special Report made it clear that the world has to cut greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030 if we are to keep the temperature from rising more than 1.5C degrees and avoid runaway global warming with catastrophic climate change. Rather than tightening emissions reductions targets, the new Ontario Climate Plan will allow Ontario to emit 30 megatons more carbon by 2030 than the previous government’s plan.

Youth have been asking to speak on the climate plans of the province since August of this year including demonstrations at Queen’s Park on October 17th and the first school strike day December 7th. They were not given the opportunity to speak in consultations when the climate plan was drawn up. Zoe Keary-Matzner stated “Climate change is threatening our future .The recent IPCC report stated that we only have 11 years left to act on climate change before we cannot stop it any more. We will only be in our 20s when the 11 years are up. Our future is being destroyed at this very moment”

The youth will deliver a letter to the Minister of the Environment, Rod Phillips, requesting a meeting to discuss their concerns about the government’s climate plan. They will deliver this letter to the office of the Minister of the Environment at 77 Wellesley St. at 2 pm. at the conclusion of the rally.

The young people with FridaysforFuture GTA will continue to rally on the first Friday of every month to draw attention to the climate crisis. They take their inspiration from the words of Greta Thunberg: “You don’t have to school strike, it’s your own choice. But why should we be studying for a future that soon may be no more? This is more important than school, I think.”

Dear Rod Phillips, Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks,

We are Fridays for Future GTA, inspired by sixteen-year old Greta Thunberg in Sweden. We are in elementary schools and high schools all over the GTA. We are striking from school every first Friday of the month, and we would like to talk to you about what our concerns are for Ontario’s climate plan because it is our future being destroyed at this very moment.

We feel very strongly about climate change. As we are young, our future is at stake. The climate is already warming faster than is safe. The recent IPCC report stated that we only have 11 years left to act on climate change before we cannot stop it any more. There still is time to act, so please consult with us. Climate change is threatening our future. We will only be in our 20s when the 11 years are up. We will also be here when the consequences of the government’s decision are going to affect our lives drastically. You can decide either to save our planet and our future or to continue the way we are.

We request a meeting to address the importance of climate action. We would like to respond to your call for a consultation on your environmental plan. We know there is an opportunity for online input, but we would like to meet in person. It would be great if we could meet on Friday, January 18, or Friday January 25.